Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis was playing some of the best basketball of his entire Los Angeles Lakers career before a stress injury to his foot took him out of action.

Then everything screeched to a halt.

Once again, Davis was out of action, and L.A. was forced to figure out how to cope without him.

This week, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski broke down the reality of Davis’ recovery and what the immediate future may hold.

“The progress with Anthony Davis, I’m told, continues to be encouraging,” Wojnarowski said. “Continues to be relatively pain-free. He’s started to do some running on the court. The next step I’m told for Anthony Davis is gonna be jumping, and then see how the foot feels then.

“But certainly, they’re encouraged with the progress. I think you’ll see start to see Anthony Davis ramp it up (and) do more with the team back in L.A.”

The Lakers came into the 2022-23 season hoping for a bounce-back effort from last year’s disappointment, but it doesn’t appear as though that will happen.

Initially there was some hope the front office would pull off a monster trade that’d restore some dignity to a once-proud franchise, but in late December, word leaked out of Rob Pelinka’s new trade plan.

The Lakers are essentially throwing in the towel on this season.

If Davis ever got truly and fully healthy, he could probably be the best player in the NBA today. Based on his recent seasons, though, it doesn’t feel like that is ever going to happen.

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